Exoecology for Monster Hunters: a 5e Ecohorror Boss Bestiary

Fulfillment Timeline Update
about 1 month ago – Sat, Feb 28, 2026 at 06:17:44 PM

Hi everyone!
Short update today, just to let you all know that I am still working through the final round of edits on the PDF. I'll be posting an updated v1.1 early access PDF to BackerKit on Monday, and I hope to send the final print proof to the printer by this Friday. If you catch any bugs, please let me know before then :)

Locking Orders & Charging Cards

I'll be locking orders this Friday, March 6th, and I'll charge cards a few days after that! You'll receive email reminders through Backerkit before any of those steps happen. These charges will include shipping, so make sure you have the correct card info in the system.

Thanks! I can't wait for the physical book to be in my (and your) hands.

Exoecology Early Access PDF for Backers!
2 months ago – Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 11:49:18 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Production & Fulfillment Update—Books & Dice!
3 months ago – Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 12:54:20 PM

Hey everyone!

With the new year rolling in, I thought it was a good time for an update! This update is focused on the book, the dice, and production timelines, but please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any specific questions that I haven't covered here. I've broken this beefy update into Production & Fulfillment sections to make it easier to chew through :)

Production

v1.0 is done!

I finished the book! Well, I finished the first draft of the book— I'm working with my editor to finalize the text. The book clocks in at 304 pages, and I hope to be done with editing by the end of January. 

I'll distribute an early access PDF sometime in the next few weeks, so you'll have the PDF in hand soon. It's still being edited, so the early access PDF may have some bugs or typos—if you find any while you're using the early access PDF, please do let me know! I'll send out another update when the early access PDF is available.

Dice!

Finally—dice I'm happy with! The sample's been shipped to me, but I have photos of the sample from the factory to share. These sharp-edged resin dice look great, and they come very close to the mockup. 

Unfortunately (for me), the dice are about three times as expensive to produce as the initial quote I'd received. If I'd known how expensive they'd be per set, I'd have charged something like $30 for them, rather than the $20 you got them for. I'm not raising the prices on anybody retroactively, and I'm just happy that I'll be able to get high quality dice to you, as promised. I'm perfectly fine with eating the cost for my own mistake/hubris, but if you'd like to help me offset those additional costs, you can add money through the Tip Jar on BackerKit. I'd appreciate it, but I certainly don't expect it! 

Fulfillment Timeline

You can expect a Kickstarter update after we reach any of the milestones below:

• (Early January) v1.0 Exoecology PDFs will be distributed via a BackerKit download. I'm also sending out the Murders at Lorelahc Manor PDFs & hardcover copies to backers who bought them during the Exoecology Kickstarter campaign. If you selected the add-on via BackerKit after the campaign, your copies will be shipped after I charge cards in early February.
• (Late January–Early February): Backerkit orders will be locked. I'll send out an update 2 weeks before I lock them so that people have time to update their add-ons, etc.
• (Early February): Cards will be charged for shipping. You haven't yet been charged for shipping, and you haven't been charged yet for any add-ons bought through BackerKit. In early February, those charges will officially go through as I prepare to send the books to the printer! This is around the same time I'll be sending the item cards for printing, and putting in the full dice order.
• (March+) VTT support! I'll begin working on the Roll20 & Foundry VTT modules once the book edits are done. The Roll20 module shouldn't take me too long, but this'll be my first Foundry module, and that may take some time. I hope to be done with all of that by March. The modules will also be distributed via BackerKit :)
• (April+) I expect the printing and manufacturing process to take months, so I am guessing books won't arrive in your mailbox for at least 4 months. I will send out an update when the books are being shipped! Expect that sometime in April.

Thanks everyone!
-Andie

Exoecology Update & a New Dark Fantasy Mystery Collaboration!
5 months ago – Tue, Oct 21, 2025 at 12:04:38 AM

Hi everyone! I'm trying to limit updates to times when I have substantial progress to share, and now's that time :)

Today's updates include new dice samples, a writing progress update, and an announcement for a new 5E collaboration with my friends at Lone Colossus Games and Green Goblet Games! 

Our collaboration, Gravedigger's Harvest, launches tomorrow, October 21st at 9 am PST! This dark fantasy mystery adventure takes place in Gilliksburgh: an unfortunate town where a lich-like monster and his minions are harvesting people like livestock and stealing their lungs for... well, you'll have to read it to find out. I'm bringing my ecosystem-minded approach to worldbuilding and monster design to really make this one something special, and I hope you check it out.

Dice Progress

I received some updated dice samples (round-edged resin) from the factory, but they still aren't quite hitting the mark in my opinion. I'll write an update after I decide how to proceed and have new samples to show, since there was some interest in pursuing other dice strategies mentioned in my previous update. This process has taken a bit longer than I expected, and I am hoping that it doesn't delay the fulfillment of the project. It'll probably be another handful of weeks before I have new samples in hand, but each round of samples looks better than the last!

Writing Update

I am chugging along, as usual! I've wrapped up the 5th adventure, and am working on the 6th and final adventure in the campaign. After that, I'll need to do editing passes on the book and dive into the revision phase of the project. I am still aiming to have the physical books in your hands by the end of March, though some delays are possible given the state of the world and the realities of large creative projects like this one. The final pieces of art are rolling in as well, including mosnters from the custom monster collaborations and some pieces showing off some of the extraplanar regional effects. I think it's turning out fantastically!

Gravedigger's Harvest: a new dark fantasy mystery launching October 21st!

Gravedigger’s Harvest is a dark fantasy mystery adventure for 5e inspired by the Ritual and Harvesting mechanics from Tome of Intangible Treasures II. This is a collaboration between myself, Iris Iordăchescu of Green Goblet Games, and Josh from Lone Colossus Games. 

Check out the project here!

Players will untangle a centennially recurring mystery and rescue the unfortunate townsfolk of Gillksburgh from their home’s cyclic misery. Despite being a horrible town in a smoke-filled bog, Gilliksburgh is suspiciously well-loved by its townsfolk, who are fated to die from a mysterious respiratory disease by the ripe “old” age of 53. Every hundred years or so, a cadaver goes missing from the morgue, and people start being murdered in the night, their chests cracked open like bloody walnuts. However, there aren’t any town records that suggest anything is out of place, and by the time the events start again no one in town remembers the last occurrence.

Gravedigger’s Harvest Will Feature:

• A Dark Fantasy Mystery Adventure in which the party will have to explore the town of Gilliksburgh and use their wits, magic, and brawn to delve into a deeper and darker mystery hidden below this unfortunate town
• A Closed Ecosystem of new, fully-illustrated monsters and strange cultists
• An Intricate Scenario with multiple approaches to solving the mystery
• New Boons and Charms able to be ritually enchanted using components harvested from monsters found in the adventure
• High Quality Physical and Digital Battle Maps of the adventure’s locales - usable in any game
• Build-a-Grave System - Build your own custom print-and-fold grave markers using art from the book with a provided template file!
• Quick Fulfillment alongside Tome of Intangible Treasures II - backers of both projects (or who add Tome of Intangible Treasures II during the campaign) will get their orders together when both projects release and save dramatically on shipping without any delay to either order

Progress Update, Dice Poll, and Stat Block Update
7 months ago – Wed, Aug 27, 2025 at 12:29:28 PM

Hey everyone!

I thought today would be a good time to send out an update on the book's progress, follow-up on the previous poll about stat blocks, and update you all on the dice manufacturing process.

2014/2024 Stat Block Poll

Thanks for voting in the 2014/2024 stat block poll to everyone who did! The voters chose Option A, so I'll be moving forward with the 2014 style stat blocks. I'll work on a conversion guide later in the writing process, so there'll be more details later for the 2024 lovers out there.

Book Progress

The book is coming along! I hope to have the writing done by the middle of October and all of the art done by end of October, but there is always a chance there will be delays. I have about 2.5 more adventures to write for the campaign portion of the book plus some extra campaign-specific supporting text, about 2.5 monsters to finish in the bestiary, and a handful of magic items to wrap up. All told, I have about 15% more of the book to finish writing and laying out. I'm feeling great about how the process is going and I feel confident that I should be in good shape to wrap up the writing certainly before the end of the year.

Dice Update & Poll

I have been going back and forth with the manufacturer these past few months to find a dice mold and process that comes as close to the original mockup as we can. The process has been a bit of a challenge. 

There's some good news and some bad news. Here is a quick and dirty summary:

• Good news: We are getting closer to a sample that looks good.
• Bad news: Sharp-edged resin dice with the mockup's marble-like swirl poses significant manufacturing challenges. To achieve the clean color separation between the dark and white swirls, it requires either 1) a much more expensive resin mold setup and higher cost per unit, 2) round-edged resin dice or 3) a shift in strategy to round-edged acrylic dice. More details below.

I've decided it would be best to fill you all in on the process so you can see what I'm working with, and ask for your opinions on how you'd like me to proceed. :)

Dice Poll

Some progress pictures are included below so you all can make an informed decision.

• Option 1: Resin round-edged dice. It turns out that the kind of resin required to make sharp-edged dice makes it impossible to achieve a clean version of the swirl I am looking for. This option should end up the closest to the original mockup, but they would be round-edged rather than sharp-edged. The price would be unchanged.
• Option 2: Sharp-edged (loaded) resin dice. These dice would have a transparent exterior surrounding the swirl, and the manufacturer told me it should be possible to achieve the style I am hoping for. This would be significantly more expensive for me. I would absorb the cost myself if we go this route because I do not want to raise prices retroactively. The price for you would be unchanged. Note: You can find a reference image at the bottom of this update.
• Option 3: Acrylic round-edged dice. These are cheaper and the sample is getting closer to the style I am hoping for, but the minimum order quantity is quite a bit higher than I'd like. I think it would be fair to offer a partial refund to backers because the manufacturing costs are cheaper and it isn't quite what was shown in the mockup (sharp-edged resin dice). If the majority of you want me to proceed with this option, I would bring the price down to $10 from $20 and you would receive a partial refund of $10 if your pledge already included a dice set.
• Option 4: Any option is fine with me!

Dice Progress Pictures

Acrylic Round-edged Dice. This is the latest round of dice samples. They are round-edged acrylic dice with a standard font and font color used for the sample which would be replaced with the final font after we narrow in on a process we want to move forward with. I am hoping for a cleaner separation between the white and dark blue/purple of the marble swirl as well.

• Pros: The swirl looks pretty good and there's a reasonably clear distinction between the light & dark parts of the "marbling". There is still some distance between this sample and what I am aiming for, but this is good headway!
• Cons: The original dice mockup was a sharp-edged resin dice set, so this is somewhat different. See below for why I am experimenting with round-edged acrylic dice with the manufacturer.

Sharp Edged Resin Dice (Best) Sample. This is, unfortunately, the best sample of the sharp-edged resin dice I have received. This is quite far from what I am looking for, and this is the main reason I have started pursuing acrylic dice as an option in the first place. The other samples aren't worth showing, in my opinion.

Loaded Resin Examples. I don't have a sample yet of the loaded resin, but here is an example of a loaded resin dice set that the manufacturer sent as an example of what can be done.

• Pros: They look cool! The swirls are more controllable, which should standardize the appearance of the dice even across the numbered dice. My understanding is that each set will look more like the others and there is more fine control over the "swirl" pattern.
• Cons: It's more expensive and will take a significant bite out of the campaign. If this is what you all would like me to do, I'll pursue this and eat the cost and consider it a cost of doing business rather than raising prices.

Thanks, everyone! As always, please reach out and message me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. It's time for me to dive back into writing :)

-Andie